LDAC is a strange family of codecs, not merely because they’re the only codecs that really attempt the hi-res thing, but because they have perplexing issues with common phones. For example, the bitrate defaults are wildly different from phone to phone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 both default to 660kbps, and the Google Pixel 3 defaults to the lesser 330kbps. However, the noise present with every LDAC connection is far greater than it is with a regular old 3.5mm headphone jack.

EQ controls: Equalization, more commonly referred to as EQ, controls the different aspects of sound that come through your headphones, and some headphones come with custom apps that let you adjust the EQ in granular detail. With the right EQ controls, you can add more treble, bump up the bass, or just create a sound profile that’s suited to your tastes. If you’re into customizing how your music sounds, look for headphones that work with an EQ app.
A good headphone should last 25 years. The first thing to replace is earpads usually, since wear affects the sound. Sometimes the cable will get a loose connection and need replaced. The drivers should be good forever, but in some rare cases a hair can work its way in and cause a buzz or rattle. If that happens it’s usually easy to remove an earpad and pull the hair etc. out.

Hearing risk from headphones' use also applies to workers who must wear electronic or communication headsets as part of their daily job (i.e., pilots, call center and dispatch operators, sound engineers, firefighters, etc.) and hearing damage depends on the exposure time. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends sound exposure not exceed 85 dB(A) over 8 hour work day as a time-weighted average.[35] NIOSH uses the 3-dB exchange rate often referred to as "time-intensity tradeoff" which means if sound exposure level is increased by 3 decibels, the duration of exposure should be cut in half. NIOSH published several documents targeted at protecting the hearing of workers who must wear communication headsets such as call center operators,[36] firefighters,[37] and musicians and sound engineers.[38]

While noise-canceling headphones are what it’s best known for, Bose makes plenty of other high-quality headphones and earbuds for people who don’t want or need noise cancellation, which degrades audio quality and costs a premium. From true wireless AirPod competitors to old-school wired earbuds, to just cheaper wireless over-ear cans, Bose makes a headphone for every style and, more importantly, for every budget.

For older models of telephones, the headset microphone impedance is different from that of the original handset, requiring a telephone amplifier for the telephone headset. A telephone amplifier provides basic pin-alignment similar to a telephone headset adaptor, but it also offers sound amplification for the microphone as well as the loudspeakers. Most models of telephone amplifiers offer volume control for loudspeaker as well as microphone, mute function and switching between headset and handset. Telephone amplifiers are powered by batteries or AC adaptors.

The impedance of headphones is of concern because of the output limitations of amplifiers. A modern pair of headphones is driven by an amplifier, with lower impedance headphones presenting a larger load. Amplifiers are not ideal; they also have some output impedance that limits the amount of power they can provide. To ensure an even frequency response, adequate damping factor, and undistorted sound, an amplifier should have an output impedance less than 1/8 that of the headphones it is driving (and ideally, as low as possible). If output impedance is large compared to the impedance of the headphones, significantly higher distortion is present.[11] Therefore, lower impedance headphones tend to be louder and more efficient, but also demand a more capable amplifier. Higher impedance headphones are more tolerant of amplifier limitations, but produce less volume for a given output level.

In-ear headphones are like earbuds but are an upgrade to them. These headphones fit into the wearer's ear canal and stay in place with the use of foam or rubber tips. These tips are available in custom sizes so they can fit each individual wearer. When a proper fit's achieved, in-ear headphones reduce outside noise and deliver sound quality at about the same level as over-ear and on-ear headphones.